


Dissociate

by Puph_17



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Melancholy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:36:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puph_17/pseuds/Puph_17
Summary: It’s been years since the Dexholder project started. Some dexholders have just completed their adventures while others haven’t been on an adventure in years. But one thing remains the same: the passage of time is a cruel thing.
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! It’s been a while since I’ve done something Pokespe related, but I’m feeling the itch to get back to it, so here we are! For those who remember my previous fic, Pokespe Legacy, I’ve decided to reboot the continuity, and I’m starting with this fic here. Think of this as the prequel to an eventual Pokespe Legacy rewrite. For the unfamiliar, don’t worry about going back and reading my old stuff, just know that this fic will take place in a Pokespe AU with a different continuity of events and that it includes 5 OCs.  
> For this chapter, 4 of 5 OCs will be mentioned but none of my OCs will take center stage till I get to the reimagining of Pokespe Legacy. Think of their mentions as a brief introduction to the characters and what they do.  
> I mention the OCs up front as I’m familiar with the bad rep that a lot of OCs have gotten, and don’t want to waste your time if you dislike them.  
> With all this explanation out of the way, let’s get the chapter going!

Yellow stared into the night sky from her favorite tree stump in Viridian Forest. It was a cold night, well into October. While no snow had fallen yet, the branches of the trees were bare, standing rigid and spindly in the night sky. They rattled as the wind blew through. Winter was coming to Kanto. Yellow knew that full well. Not that she cared.

Well, she did care somewhat. Most of her friends had gone into hibernation. All of the Beedrill hives had battened down the hatches for winter, as had most of the other Pokemon in the forest that hadn’t migrated south earlier in the fall. There were still a few, like the local Kanghaskhan, and a few Growlithe that lived to the south.

But such was the course of nature. Which just left her, sitting alone in the middle of the forest, save for Ratty perched on her shoulder. The others were back at her house, where they’d be safe from the winter’s coming cold. It was lonely there, after all. Ever since her uncle had gone out to sea and never returned. Apparently, his ship capsized in a storm. Nobody was rescued from the wreck.

Yellow sighed as she fiddled with a familiar red device in her hands, its batteries long dead and its vacant screen glinting in the moonlight. It had been years since her dexholder days and months since she’d talked to any of her old friends. She didn’t even know why she kept her old pokedex. She’d thrown away almost everything else. Perhaps she was too weak to cut off her last tie to her old life. Maybe she’d have the strength someday. But that day wasn’t today.

She’d changed so much since her days as a Dexholder. She’d admittedly been an optimistic and naïve girl back then. Now that Yellow had truly seen what people did to Pokemon….well, it didn’t sit right with her anymore to associate with people very much. This went even for her friends. They were still part of the system. Not that all people in the system were bad. Red in particular seemed to hold out a lot of hope for them. But she didn’t. Not anymore. Not after she’d heard the screams. Not after she’d heard the pleas for help. Not after she’d seen the suffering. From pollution, from truly disgusting trainers, from people who just didn’t care.

Idly, Yellow wondered if this was why Lance had tried to destroy Kanto. Maybe she should have let him. There really wasn’t much worth saving. All of the big factories, churning out pollution. All of the big boats, spewing out unhealthy fumes. All of the progress of “industry”. Kanto in particular was considered to be one of the most heavily industrialized regions in the world. Even Johto had more restrictions to protect the wild areas.

Maybe Lance had been right. Maybe humans and Pokemon couldn’t coexist happily. Maybe she’d just been a naive little girl when she’d fought him on Cerise Isle all those years ago. Honestly it had been a miracle that she’d made it out alive, let alone with a victory.

But no… she was different then Lance. It was a bit of a strange thought, one that hadn’t crossed her mind for some time. But it was something that Yellow knew that at least for sure. She retained at least a little hope. At least she hadn’t become so jaded that she’d lost faith in humanity totally. Whatever that was worth. Her friends weren’t lost causes, as were most people. The bad people were few, but unfortunately, they often had either power or anonymity on their side. And they were impossible to deal with. Yellow had found that out the hard way. She simply didn’t have enough power on her own to move them. 

Now, she spent her days in the forest, guiding lost souls back to the beaten paths or driving away the more aggressive passers through who ventured too far into the forest. They weren’t allowed to touch her forest. To steal away her friends. No…even if it were the last piece of wild land in all of Kanto, she wouldn’t let them in. She might not be the most powerful trainer in the world, but she wasn’t weak either. She could guard this beautiful place. She could guard her home. She had enough power to do that at least. 

But at the same time, she felt…unfulfilled? Like she was missing something. But what could there be? She was surrounded by her Pokémon friends and her beloved forest. It was all she had left.

It wasn’t like the other Dexholders were around very much anymore, even if she wanted to see them. All of them had gone their own way. She only got to see Red, Green and Crystal on a regular-ish basis. Red was perpetually busy with his Champion duties. He and Misty came to visit Yellow on occasion, when his schedule allowed. It was nice. He usually brought pastries with him too, which was always a bonus. Green was always stuck in his Gym. It could not be said that he didn’t do his best to be the best gym leader possible. What could be said was that he was a workaholic who was always on the job. Usually it was Yellow doing the visiting, mostly for business purposes. Sometimes she was returning a scared lost soul to civilization, sometimes she dragging a wanted fugitive back to the waiting handcuffs of a law enforcement officer. It was a working relationship, and she respected Green greatly. Did she have much of a friendship anymore? Not at all. And then there was Crystal. She now worked for Professor Oak as an assistant in the lab. She often accompanied Crystal when going to release Pokemon back into the wild and sometimes got called into the lab itself to calm an inconsolable Pokemon. She was always nice to talk to. Busy to be sure, but a friend none the less who made time to meet with her on a regular basis. Which was more then she could say for the rest of the dexholders.

Sure, she’d seen most of them at least once in the last few years, but that didn’t constitute a proper friendship at all. Violet had once been her sister in arms against those who would do Pokemon harm. But when Yellow found she couldn’t carry on, Violet had gone on without her, her fire still burning brightly in that endless battle. Perhaps her ability to actually transform into a Pokémon gave her some insight or power that Yellow didn’t have, with only her ability to understand Pokémon. Something that kept her going, when Yellow could not. Not that Yellow had the slightest idea of what that something was.

Blue had outright just disappeared. The last that Yellow had heard was that Blue’s acting career hadn’t been going so well and that she was going to redouble her efforts to get a role. Considering that she hadn’t heard anything in months, Yellow could only assume that it didn’t go well. She wasn’t concerned for Blue’s safety, the woman had proven time and time again that she was more than capable of handling herself against any number of dangers, but Yellow did wonder what she was doing now. Her parents had even stopped by to ask if she had heard anything. They were really nice people and it pained Yellow deeply to have no information for them.

Then there was Orange, ever off on another adventure. While her adventurous spirit had cooled somewhat over time, she was still off on the road for another freelance filming or photography job more often than not and loving every minute of it. Between her freelance business, her brutal travel schedule and her perpetually short budget, Orange was always busy and only ever turned up in Yellow’s neck of the woods by sheer accident and nothing more. Not that Yellow minded when she turned up, but their interactions were always cut short by whatever other errand Orange had to run off and attend to. Yellow had no idea why Orange would do that to herself, but it wasn’t like she was one to talk. By the system’s terminology, she was “unemployed” and “not doing anything with her life”. The simple thought of that made her eyes roll. She was taking care of her forest and her Pokémon friends and doing a far better job of it then those so called “Rangers”. What a lot of city slickers they were. Probably couldn’t tell north from south without a GPS.

Indigo was also not frequently around, though for different reasons. The former Shadow Trainer had taken a more academic path and was now currently doing his PhD in computer sciences. Or so Crystal had told her. The last time she’d seen him was during the World Tourney when he’d been competing for Kanto-Johto after the big steroids scandal had gotten almost all of the professional competitive battlers on the continent suspended, and many of the top collegiate battlers had been called in as replacements. Indigo was hard to watch battle, though. While he’d changed a lot in the years Yellow had known him, he was a Shadow Trainer at heart and the high risk, high reward and high recoil battling style he defaulted to when cornered was hard for her to watch. It also reminded her of what Indigo had told her about the Shadow Pokemon project. Sometimes, Yellow wondered if Shadow Humans existed. And sometimes, she wondered if Indigo walked the line in between.

Silver visited on very rare occasion, often swinging by while on business trips to Viridian City. Between his wife, two kids and his job, he was quite the busy guy. It was almost astonishing to see the transformation of the young man from the shadowy, sneaky trainer bent on destroying the Masked Man to the quiet salary worker who worked an 9-5 job and had a wife and two kids. Silver’s wedding had been the last time Yellow had seen all the dexholders together in one place. It had been a joyous occasion and Yellow couldn’t be happier for him. It still saddened her that she didn’t get to see him very often.

Lyra was the only other dexholder she cared to see after Gold’s…..fall from grace. The former rock star had gotten himself into the party life, shortly before blowing all his money and disgracing himself on live tv. Not that she’d had much in common with the boisterous dexholder to begin with. Lyra was far better conversation. She would visit every time she was in Viridian, though unfortunately, the lack of rich people in need of a move tutor in the area limited her visits. Lyra always had the funniest stories of trainers who hired her to teach their Pokémon new moves, and Yellow very much enjoyed her outrageous tales and cheerful company. 

But alas, the result was the same. All of them were off doing their own things. Off living their lives. Off doing what they wanted to do. While she sat here on a stump in the middle of a cold, empty forest. 

No. She wanted to be here. She was here for a reason. For the Pokemon. For the forest she called home. She couldn’t forget.

The wind picked up into a strong gust. Yellow instinctively reached for her head, before stopping herself and sighing. She was still trying to stop her hat from blowing away, even though she’d stopped wearing it years ago. Ratty perked his head up as Yellow’s ponytail whipped around and lightly whacked his tail.

“Sorry Ratty. Maybe I need a haircut,” said Yellow apologetically.

Ratty just squeaked and gave her a concerned look.

“Yeah, I guess I was brooding again,” said Yellow. “Sorry about that. I know you don’t like it.”

Ratty perked up and squeaked a few more times before rubbing his head against her arm.

Yellow’s face twisted into a small, sad smile.

“Thank you.”

Ratty chattered again, pawing at her hand. 

“I know. It’s just…. I don’t know….” sighed Yellow. “None of the others see it the way I do. I can’t change the course of history. I can’t stop all of the factories. I can’t catch all the bad trainers. I know I beat Lance, but that was with everybody else helping. I would never have stood a chance on my own.”

Ratty squeaked again. Yellow shook her head.

“No, I’m just some sort of crazy woman to them now. I don’t think they’d listen to me just because we fought Lance. I don’t even know if the title of Pokedex holder goes for anything anymore. I mean, it only went for so much back in the day.”

That being said, maybe Ratty was on to something? According to Crystal, Yellow had become a local legend. The “Lady of the Forest” or something like that. Protector of the Trees. Guardian of the Pokemon. She sighed in frustration. They probably wouldn’t listen to her. They probably wouldn’t get it. And at this point, she wasn’t sure if they ever would. They didn’t understand Pokemon the way she did. 

Was it fair to be so hard on them if they couldn’t see things the way she did because of her powers? Probably. You didn’t need her gift to know that Pokemon were suffering. It was right in front of everybody. No, it wasn’t all Pokemon and yes, there were a lot of really good and kindhearted trainers out there, but it didn’t change the fact that there were still hurting Pokemon out there who needed help. And she could only do so much on her own.

She had tried. She had gone out into the wilds and city dumps. She’d marched with the protestors and given dozens of speeches. She’d almost worked herself into a serious mental breakdown. It had taken nearly all of the people she knew to convince her to stop. And when she stopped, she came to a realization.

What was she accomplishing by doing all of this?

It was only then that she realized that her efforts weren’t enough. That no matter what she did, there would never be able to make a dent in the overwhelming face of all of the suffering.

At this point, she’d need to have significant political sway. Even Red, the popular champion, had tried to push legislation to help curb some of the pollution and put better policies in place, but was still pushing against stiff political resistance. It disgusted Yellow beyond words. It made her usually dormant rage boil with a frenzy unmatched by any other emotion she’d ever felt. And to be honest, it scared her that she was even capable of such anger. In the end, she decided that she needed to get away from it all. Away from the politicians, away the people and away from the filthy, broken, despicable world that they all lived in. Away to the only forest she’d ever called home.

Yellow felt a small nip at her hand, bringing her straight back to reality. She looked down at Ratty, who peered up at her, concerned. She hadn’t realized that she’d gotten so worked up.

“Don’t worry, Ratty. I’m fine. Just….got worked up thinking about some things. That’s all!”

She gave Ratty a smile. He chattered concernedly and nuzzled against her arm.

“Really, I’m fine! You don’t have to worry about me. You know me. I can handle this!”

Ratty shook his head.

“Ugh, you’re right, Ratty. But who am I going to call?”

Ratty chattered again.

“They’re all busy. I don’t even have a phone to call them anymore.”

Ratty chattered again, more animated this time.

“I don’t think that will work.”

Ratty squeaked animatedly.

“I…have a hunch. It’s not going to happen, all right?”

Yellow sighed as the wind gusted again. She glanced up at the rattling branches above her.

“They…I don’t know that most of them care about me anymore, Ratty. It’s been forever since I’ve seen them. I….ugh….I don’t know.”

Ratty nuzzled against Yellow comfortingly.

“Thanks, Ratty. I know I can always count on you.”

Ratty squeaked happily and settled down on her lap.

Yellow gazed out over the forest, absentmindedly stroking Ratty’s fur. Nothing had changed in the forest. Just as always. That’s what she loved so much about the place. No matter how much things seemed to change, no matter if the leaves were blown away and the plants shriveled, no matter if branches fell and trees toppled, the forest always seemed to stay the same. She would always have friends here. She would always be safe here. She would always be at home here.

She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she had thought. Or maybe they were. It didn’t matter. She had her forest. And her forest had her. And that was all she needed.

Yellow stood up from her tree stump, Ratty still in her arms. He perked up and clambered onto her shoulder, squeaking curiously.

“Come on Ratty. Let’s go home.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I realized that I didn't mention something important which is relevant to this chapter – my AU has the overwhelming majority of legendary or mythical pokemon removed. Not quite all of them, but the overwhelming majority of them are gone. I wanted to try and challenge myself without having a ton of super powerful pokemon at my disposal for my plot. This is relevant because this is Ruby's chapter and the events from an alternate RS chapter with no Groudon or Kyogre are going to be very important here. For those of you who remember a certain few lines scattered across the original Pokespe Legacy, you might have an idea what's coming – this was one of the biggest cut parts from the original, and I'm glad that this eventually made it to release!

Ruby wished he could change the past. Oh, how he wished he could change the past.

It was the only thought passing through Ruby’s mind as he sat atop the caldera rim of Sootopolis City. It was a steep, rocky climb in the ever-present humidity of the city to get up to where he was, but the view was beyond worth it. In one direction, the entire city of Sootopolis stretched out for the entire length of the caldera. And surrounding the rocky slopes of the caldera, nothing but sea and sky.

The sun hung low in the sky as it inched its way to the horizon, painting the sky brilliant shades of orange and red, tinting the clouds pink and dying the sea shades of yellow mixed with orange. It was a brilliant, breathtaking view.

But it was not enough to shake Ruby out of his sorrows. For it was just this time of day that reminded him of…. _those_ events, so many years ago….

He’d been an insufferable little brat back then. Desperate to get away from his father and become the greatest coordinator the world had ever seen.

Oh, how he wished he could change all that.

It had all started when his father had forced him to join some project his friend Professor Birch had been working on. They gave him a red device called a Pokedex and then taken him on a number of expeditions to catch and scan as many Pokemon as he could. If only he’d actually realized the significance of his inclusion at the time.

He’d worked with three others. He’d gotten along best with Wally. He was a kind if somewhat sickly boy who was the glue that held the entire group together. Ruby sighed. He was glad that Wally had become the head gym trainer in his Dad’s gym. His passion was to be a trainer, and he’d worked absurdly hard to get to where he was. At least Wally deserved his credentials.

Emerald was an oddball to be sure. Sure, sometimes they argued, but sometimes the short guy pulled through. A strange but solid ally, Emerald’s fascination with gadgets had practically defined him in his younger years. As he’d grown older, his mastery of battling had won over and he’d become the Backup Brain of the Battle Frontier. Whenever a Brain got sick or had to take a leave of absence, Emerald was there to fill their position. Ruby didn’t see the appeal, but Emerald appeared happy there, which was more then Ruby could say about his position.

And then…. there was Sapphire. The lone female of the group, she and Ruby had immediately rubbed each other the wrong way. They fought and bickered nearly incessantly. Ruby remembered acutely how exhausting it was. He’d set up his tent at the end of the day and crawl into his sleeping bag, sometimes falling asleep before dinner was cooked. But Sapphire was a different case then the others. She represented everything…. _everything_ that Ruby wished had gone differently.

Everything had been going….well, passably for a while. And then Professor Birch had taken them back to the lab to download the data they’d collected off their Pokedexes. He was having trouble with the data corrupting, so he’d had to call in tech support. Due to their more remote location in Littleroot Town and a major wave of PC problems in the region, they were told to take a week off to give the tech guy time to come by. What a world of difference that one PC issue had made.

He’d gone off in a frustrated rage after arguing with Sapphire, ranting as he went. If only he could just control this situation. If only he could make her stop arguing with him. To realize that her barbaric ways were wrong and ugly. That’s what contests were about. To control every variable and forge beauty through one’s imagination and will.

That had been the day he’d met a kindred spirit. Her name was Marge, and she was part of an organization that helped give people the power to control their lives. To wrest control away from others who were out for their own greedy ends and use that control to achieve their own dreams. That organization was Team Magma.

To Ruby’s everlasting shame, he’d practically inhaled the pitch, hook, line and sinker. And probably at least half of the line too. It had been everything he’d ever wanted. With the cool older sister figure who liked contests and beautiful things to boot. He had been accepted with open arms by a group of accepting people, each with their own goals. Mitch wanted to get rich and pull his family out of poverty. Blaise wanted to take revenge on the schemers that had gotten his father, a successful businessman, killed. The boss, Maxie wanted the control to make the Hoenn region a better place. Warmed by the bonfire of hope that had been lit in his heart, Ruby had followed Marge headlong down the path they were on, believing it would take him to his dreams. Oh, how wrong he’d been.

No less then 10 days in, he and Marge had been sent out on their first mission. An easy one, to help get him into the swing of things. All they had to do was go to the shipyard and steal some fancy piece of equipment from some sailor. They’d barged in and got it, only to turn around to see two people dressed in similar, but equally hideous pirate outfits. Complete with an atrocity of a striped shirt and a disaster of a bandanna. One of them was a woman with a nightmarish plume of hair. And the other was Sapphire. She’d stood there, with a fierce look of determination like nothing he’d ever seen in her eyes. He steeled himself. Ruby had been training with Courtney those last 10 days and he was not about to let a literal barbarian defeat him.

She’d put up more of a fight then he cared to admit, her fury and determination making up most of the skill gap between the two of them. But not all of it. He’d managed to knock her down, before Marge disengaged with big hair lady and the two fled the scene. Marge had been impressed and had showered him with compliments as they flew back to the base.

When they returned, they were greeted with the sight of a badly wounded Mitch limping through the door. He too had run into another one of those pirates. It was there that Ruby learned about Team Aqua. A disheveled collection of ridiculous vagabonds who resorted to piracy and thieving to support their freedom. It sounded like a group of bullies that had to be put down out of sheer principle. And Maxie agreed.

Maxie had recalled all available members and had given a speech as they went to war. Ruby shuddered internally at how inspired and fired up he’d been when the speech was given. It had been a whole lot of nonsense about control and power and not letting some vagrants have it. But he’d cheered just as loud as everybody else when the speech ended.

It had been a tense few months after that. Maxie had quickened the pace of acquiring the machinery that he needed to grant every single member of Team Magma the power they so richly deserved – the Magma Stone. It was a synthetic crystal made by a machine that boosted the power of a trainer’s fire, ground and rock Pokemon. And apparently Team Aqua was after this machine too, doubtless for some nefarious purpose. Ruby remembered when the machine had been completed. He’d cheered alongside the other grunts as the first Magma Stone clanked out of the side of that machine. It had been run day and night, making the stones as quickly as possible. Soon, every member of the team had one to call their own.

Emboldened by this victory, Maxie had focused on his plans to remove the weak and corrupt Pokemon League. Ruby had been sent on several raids of League Compounds. They totally overwhelmed the trainers before torching the facilities and disappearing. It was upon returning from one of these raids that the impossible happened.

They returned to their base as usual to discover it ransacked. The few grunts who had been left behind had been badly beaten and their precious artificial stone making machine had been stolen. Maxie had been beside himself with fury. One of the grunts had been able to successfully play dead and had been in good enough condition to relay the news. It had been Team Aqua. A few days later, the news broke that Team Aqua had been seen massing in Slateport City.

Maxie ordered an immediate assault. Enraged by the injuries of their colleagues, the Magmas had descended on Slateport like a flock of angry Skarmory. It had quickly turned into an all-out melee. It had been brutal. But it was where Ruby finally had the curtain in front of his eyes burned away.

Ruby remembered that battle like it was yesterday. The shouts of battle and the screams of civilians. There was one image that Ruby would never be able to forget. The sight of a shopkeeper and her daughter hiding underneath their doll stand as an all out battle raged around them. It was when Ruby finally stopped and asked himself what he was doing.

Thankfully, he’d been able to keep his wits about him. Throwing off his now repugnant magma hoodie, he dashed into a store and grabbed the least terrible looking jacket he could find along with a hat and a pair of sunglasses. Chucking at least double the payment on the abandoned counter, Ruby donned his new getup and fled into the forest.

When he finally stopped running he was far from any roads or civilization, completely lost and completely without supplies. It had been a long and cold night by himself, shivering alone in the middle of nowhere. Ruby remembered how thankful he’d been to see the sun rise over the horizon.

He’d barely been able to think all day, he was so overwhelmed. Thankfully, he’d been able to forage a few berries for himself and his Pokemon and relocate to a stream of water that seemed to be safe to drink. But the weight of what he’d been doing was hitting him like a runaway dump truck. How could he possibly return home? What future was there left for him? Should he just stay here in the woods and never come out? Those thoughts tormented him till he fell asleep that night.

When he awoke, it was to a campfire and something soft underneath him. And Sapphire of all people staring down at him. She’d lost the bandanna and she was wearing the striped shirt inside out so that it was harder to see the stripes.

What followed ranked as the single most awkward conversation of his life.

Eventually, they stopped stuttering and beating around the bush long enough to convey what they meant to say. It seemed like Sapphire had the exact same idea that he had. When she eventually found her words, she explained to Ruby why she had sided with the privateering vagabonds. They had promised her the power to achieve total freedom. No more would she be stuck helping her dad with endless research or confined to Littleroot Town when she wanted to explore the world. And to accomplish all this, they fabricated the Aqua Stone, similar to the Magma Stone, but boosting instead the powers of Water, Ice and Fighting types. It was when Ruby realized that Sapphire’s story….was not unlike his own. It had taken nearly all of his power to swallow his pride and tell her his story. Eventually they came to an agreement that they were on the same side.

After a few days of foraging, Ruby spoke up about something on his mind. They needed to warn the League that Team Magma was trying to take them down. Sapphire then informed him that Team Aqua was after the same goal, in the name of freedom. It then became clear what they needed to do.

It took them some time to get out of the forest. When Sapphire offered to call Professor Birch, Ruby had quickly shot her down and then called his dad. He wasn’t surprised when Norman showed up, backed by Brawly, Roxanne and several police officers.

The next 48 hours were filled with shame, regret, and well deserved justice. After telling several officers everything he knew, he and Sapphire were eventually taken to a large meeting, filled with a number of the most powerful people in Hoenn. The gym leaders, the elite four, league officials, and a number of other influential figures. He, along with Sapphire told them everything they knew, and answered a firestorm of questions. What did the Magma Stone do, how many were there, what were Maxie’s plans, etc. Professor Birch, Wally, Emerald and even Professor Oak’s assistant Ms. Crystal were there to watch Ruby eat crow pie.

The meeting quickly devolved into a fight, the officials, gym leaders and others split nearly down the middle of what should be done. And then a messenger had run in, stating that Team Magma and Team Aqua were attacking Lilycove City, this time together. That had really got the arguing going. In the chaos, Ruby had felt a strong hand grab his shoulder and turn him and Sapphire around in their chairs. It was his dad. He looked both him and Sapphire in the eye and told them how very disappointed he was. And after a deep breath, he unlocked their handcuffs and told them to follow him. Striding to his quarters, he handed them their Pokeballs, offered them a change of clothes sent from home, and told them that they were going to redeem themselves by helping him stop both Team Magma and Team Aqua.

After changing his attire the tiny bathroom attached to his father’s office, Ruby had waited as Sapphire had taken her turn. He had sat in a chair next to his dad and waited in complete silence. Eventually his dad broke the silence. And he told him that despite his failings, he was proud of him for at least coming forward with the information that they had. And then he’d given him a bone crushing hug. Ruby couldn’t stop the tears that were falling from his eyes. Thankfully, he managed to dry them by the time Sapphire got out.

As they exited the room, they ran into Miss Crystal, Wally and Emerald. Who apparently had the exact same idea, since the league members were still fighting. Together, the six of them had flown direct from Sootopolis to Lilycove and landed straight into complete chaos. It had been an epic battle, as they joined the fray. Ruby watched in awe as his dad’s Slaking roared into action, thrashing the enemy and sending scores of grunts, both Magma and Aqua alike flying into the air with no distinction. And then he’d run into Marge. The look she gave him almost killed his will to fight. But he stood up to her. And in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to fight him. As the rest of the Gym Leaders and league trainers and the Elite Four arrived, she slipped off into the melee. Ruby never heard from her again. They never ended up catching her or finding a body. Hopefully she’d made it somewhere far away.

Which left Ruby with one person that he needed to confront. With Zuzu at his side he squared off against Maxie, one vs one. And by some miracle, he’d come out on top. Ruby still shuddered to think of the look of pure hatred that Maxie had given to him while being dragged away by League trainers. He’d been exhausted by the fight, and hadn’t been too surprised to see Sapphire in a similar condition, having just vanquished Archie in similar fashion.

It had been two weeks before they decided what to do with Ruby and Sapphire. For their heroic efforts and the crucial information that they had been provided, they were allowed to walk free. However, they were to be under the supervision of gym leaders, for rehabilitation purposes. Sapphire had been assigned to Winona and Ruby had been assigned to Wallace.

Which led him to where he was today.

Ruby sighed again as he stared off the side of the caldera. The sun had partially dipped below the horizon, dying the sea a brilliant shade of red.

Nearly a decade had passed and he was still in nearly the same position that he was then. Still working at Sootopolis gym, only now as the head of Gym Trainers. While he’d been “rehabilitated”, whatever that meant, his job prospects as a former Magma grunt weren’t great. So, he stayed on. Every now and again, he participated in a contest. Currently, he was ranked 5th regionally and 28th in the world. Life wasn’t so bad. But at the same time….Ruby wondered could have been. Were his prospects sinking like the sun in front of him into the ocean?

Maybe he could have been that Contest Master, a full time Contest participant. With a billowing cape behind him and an air of mystique, a sparkle at his fingertips and an unreadable smile on his face. Surrounded by adoring fans, shelling out autographs as quickly as he could write his name. Maybe even the face of his own brand of fashion clothes. But all of that was now crushed. Now all he could do was sit here, in the mangled remains of his hopes and dreams. What a complete idiot he’d been as a teenager.

Ruby took a deep breath of the salty, humid air, and cast his gaze to the other side of the sky, where purples and dark blues had begun to gather and a few bright silver stars begun to twinkle faintly.

It was beautiful. So beautiful. The kind of thing that warranted a photo, or a painting, or something. It could have inspired a thousand masterful contest performances. But…his heart still ached. For there was still one thing…no person….who surpassed the scene around him.

As usual, he’d realized this far too late. As a former Magma grunt trying to make an honest living, he’d realized that he saw the world differently then most people. And that people looked at him differently for the asterisks on his record. Sure, there were many attractive young women around Sootopolis. But he’d given up the dating scene some time ago. It would take somebody with a similar story to understand him at this point. And there was only one other person who he knew of with a similar story. Except that she lived in Fortree City, not Sootopolis. It had hit him one sleepless night like a pile of bricks out of thin air. It hadn’t been the last time he’d cursed his younger self’s stupidity.

The next time he’d seen her was at a League Meeting. Standing behind Wallace, he’d barely heard any of the proceedings. Because standing behind Winona was Sapphire. And Ruby had been wondering the whole time how he’d missed such a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, Wallace had noticed and had spent a lot of time teasing him about it after the fact.

Which then made him wonder. What would have happened between the two of them if anything had gone differently?

What if they had stayed in the woods? Eventually somebody would have found them. They had only been about 10 miles from civilization. They would have needed to hide deeper if they didn’t want to be found. And they probably would have needed to sneak back into civilization every now and again for something. They eventually would have been caught, but never been offered a chance for redemption.

What if they had stayed with the teams? It was unlikely that they alone could have tipped the scales. Ruby would most likely have battled his father, and even with the Magma Stone, he wasn’t sure if he could have won, let alone pull a victory against the likes of Steven or Wallace. He would have been sent to jail with the rest of them or been forced into a life on the run. And there was no guarantee that he’d be able to flee with Sapphire. Most likely, he would have fled with Marge, never to see Sapphire, his family or any of the other dexholders again.

Or what if he’d lost to Sapphire back in Slateport? Would she have beaten him up after she’d won, just like Blaise? Would Marge have been able to escape without him?

And of course, the kicker. What would have happened if they had been able to solve their differences before joining their respective teams? To be totally honest, he’d probably go on to have a normal life. The Pokedex project would have just rolled along and there wouldn’t have been any problems. Sure, maybe they wouldn’t have responded to Team Magma or Team Aqua as quickly, but at least he wouldn’t have ruined his life.

The worst part of it all was that the sequence of events that had occurred had actually been one of the better outcomes. Not optimal to be sure, but it could had gone so much worse. Ruby couldn’t fathom how he’d been that lucky, to have chosen so poorly and then to have escaped without the worst of the consequences. It had even served to help repair his relationship with his dad, as he had come to visit him in Sootopolis on a weekly basis.

He didn’t deserve this. After all he’d done, after all the bad decisions he’d made, after all the warning signs he’d missed, he did NOT deserve anything remotely resembling a happy ending. And yet here he was.

Ruby supposed he should make something of it, but he just didn’t feel like he should. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. There were a whole lot of other Magma grunts still serving time for their actions, why wasn’t he?

He kicked the ground in frustration, watching the displaced gravel tumble down the edge of the caldera’s steep sides.

Why couldn’t he do anything right? Everybody said that he’d redeemed himself, so why couldn’t he convince himself of that? Everybody said he was a hero, but why couldn’t he see himself as anything other than a villain to be arrested and punished? What was wrong with him?

A traitorous thought that Sapphire might be feeling the same way slipped into his mind. There was no way that she was going through the same thing as him. She was beautiful and strong….and everything he wished he could be. There was no way she would ever return his affections or even want anything to do with him.

Ruby sighed as he looked up to see the sun dipping below the horizon. He slowly got to his feet and began taking the trail back down the mountainside, back down to Sootopolis City.

Ruby wished he could change the past. Oh, how he wished he could change the past.

* * *

_In Fortree City_

Sapphire sighed as she stared up at the stars from the roof of her house in Fortree City.

Sapphire wished she could change the past. Oh, how she wished she could change the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just say that I have plans for Ruby and Sapphire when I get to my Legacy rewrite…

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up, while I rolled the Kanto and Johto dexholders together for this chapter, there will be chapters that focus on the dexholders from the rest of the regions. Yes, I’m actually going to be focusing on the other dexholders this go around. I ended up cutting a lot of ideas from the original Pokespe Legacy that I’d like to properly use this go around, and a lot of them involve the Junior dexholders.  
> I’ll see you all next time!


End file.
